Apparatus for forming glass articles



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APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original FiledSept. 8, 1960 INVENTOR flap/94w z. /e Msm/e BY My May 17, 1966 A. E.BRYMER, JR

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original FiledSept.

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APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES Original Filed Sept. 8, 1960 7Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. yA/finw 1.? Ee Max. /4 BY 9 f 7, Ma M 47-(Mgr-f y 1966 A. E. BRYMER, JR 3,251,673

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES Original Filed Sept. 8, 1960 7Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 40am; .4. Ker/45 May 17, 1966 A. E. BRYMER, JR

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original FiledSept. 8. 1960 INVENTOR. 44 ote'w 6 iywqfi BY 7: 7

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APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES May 17, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 6Original Filed Sept. 8, 1960 INVENTOR.

y 1966 A. E. BRYMER, JR 3,251,673

APPARATUS FOR FORMING GLASS ARTICLES Original Filed Sept- 8, 1960 7Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR ANoRriuu E BRVI IEKjR BY Q9? W United StatesPatent Office Patented May 17, 1966 APPARATUS FOR FORMlNG GLASS ARTICLESAndrew E. Brymer, Jr., Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens- Illinois GlassCompany, a corporation of Ohio Original application Sept. 8, 1960, Ser.No. 54,628, now

Patent No. 3,149,950, dated Sept. 22, 1964. Divided and this applicationOct. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 314,213

5 Claims. (Cl. 65-359) This application is a division of applicationSerial No. 54,628, filed September 8, 1960, now Patent No. 3,149,- 950.

This invention relates to glass forming and shaping mechanism, and inparticular, to a parison or a blank forming mechanism for shapingparisons oi the narrowneck type. Such shaping may be either (for formingparisons which are ultimatelyblown to final form or the forming offinally shaped narrow glass articles. 7 In present day machines of thegob fed type, it is the usual procedure to charge the mold by deliveringthe gob to the mold at a station preceding the pressing thereof or bycharging the mold at the pressing station. It has been the practice inthe forming of narrow-neck ware to charge the mold while in invertedposition through the bottom opening of the mold disposed uppermost atthe time of loading. The narrow neck of the article will be formed atthe lowermost portion of the inverted mold in partible neck rings ora-neck mold registered adjacent the blank mold. After a bafllev platecloses the mentioned uppermost opening of the .mold, the plunger ismoved vertically from below into the neck mold and the blank moldcavity. After the parison has been pressed, it has been necessary toinvert the parison before completing the shaping of the article, whichshaping is usually done by enclosing the parison in a blow mold andintroducing air under pressure to the interior of the parison, throughthe opening in the formed neck finish of the article. Because of thefact that it is necessary to close the bottom of the parison mold with abaffle plate before pressing the parison, the final article will havewhat are termed bafile marks when in completed form.

In the present invention, the charge of molten glass is delivered to theparison mold through the neck mold, with the parison mold in a loweradjacent upright position. The parison mold is formed of two pieces sothat the two halves may be opened and closed. When forming narrow-neckparisons in an upright position, a relatively large body of molten glassmust be contained in the bottom portion of the parison mold and the moldcavity is comprised usually of a number of varying diameters, at leastone of which is of greater diameter than the neck mold cavity. Thisrelationship of mold diam eters correlated to the ware formed from eachmold will define the type of ware herein referred to as narrow neckware. Consequently, it is necessary to use a split parison mold in orderto separate the parison from the blank mold after the pressing of theparison has been completed. Furthermore, by providing a two-pieceparison mold, this type of split parison mold does not require the useof a baflle. Hence, there is no possibility of having bafile marks onthe finished ware.

In the present invention the split blank mold is mounted for verticalmovement into engagement with the neck ring parts carried by ahorizontally rotated turret. The gob or mold charge is delivered to theclosed parison mold when the mold is raised into underlying contact withthe neck ring. The plunger mechanism, when actuated, moves the plungerfrom overhead into vertical alignment with the neck ring and thendownwardly into the parison mold cavity. After the pressing iscompleted, the plunger is retracted, the parison mold opened, and themold retracted. When there is sufficient clearance between the ends ofthe plunger and the neck rings andthe open blank molds have been loweredbelow the end of the formed parison, the turret is ready to index tocarry the parisons to the next station, namely, the blowing station.After the parison has been blown to final form, the turret is againindexed to carry the completed ware to the takeout station. By providingthree sets of neck rings spaced apart, it is possible to have fulloverlap of operation, that is, while the parison is being pressed 2.previously pressed parison is being blown to final form and a previouslyblown article is being dis charged at the takeout station.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a novel glassforming machine for making narrow-neck glass articles.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide two-piecemolding apparatus having positive linear motion in opening and closing.

It is .a further object of this invention to provide a novelglassforming machine for forming narrowneck parisons in an uprightposition.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a partiblemold unit having linear opening and closing motion.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the followingdescriptive material taken in conjunction with the attached drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the parison forming unit of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view, similar to FIG. 1, showing the parison formingunit in open position;

FIG. 2A is a side elevational view, of the unit of FIG. 2, with thevertical wall broken away, and shown in phantom lines;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the parisonforming unit looking in the direction of arrow 3 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevational view of the mold unit looking in thedirection of arrow 4 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic elevational view of the mold unit looking in thedirection of arrow 5 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6'6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7A is a fragmentary perspective view looking in the direction ofthe equalizer bar mechanism of the'apparatus of FIG. 2.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention as amechanism for use in a plural mold, double gob, operation in thepressing of glass articles, or parisons for blown-containers. However,this invention is not to be limited to use in double gob operation asits principal features may also be applied to single mold and single goboperation. In addition, this invention is also applicable to thepressing of finished glass articles in either a single or double cavitypressing operation.

Referring to the drawings, a parison mold holder 24, also referred to inthe trade as a mold cage, is located at the forming station and isarranged for vertical reciprocation into and out of contact with neckmolds. The parison mold cage 24 is split and each half carries a pair ofparison mold halves. The parison mold cage is carried by a crosshead 25which in turn is attached to the upper end of a vertically disposedpiston rod (not shown).

, In order to provide efiicient charging of the blank molds, fixed gobguiding means 30 and 31 extend vertically through the upper machinemember 19.

As stated before, after the pressing has been completed, a pair ofplungers are retracted upwardly until their lower ends clear the neckrings, and simultaneously the parison mold cage 24 is opened and lowereduntil the formed parisons, which depend from the neck rings, will havesufiicient indexing clearance to pass over the surface of the parisonmold cage 24. The parisons will be moved to the next station where ablow mold (not shown) is closed about the parisons and the parisons areblown to final form.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 7A, a detailed description of the split moldcage and mounting arrangement is presented. As best shown in FIGS. 1 to5, the mold cage assembly 24 is clamped to the moveable crosshead 25 bymeans of a yoke-shaped clamp 50 (FIGS. 4 and having clamping faces 51 atopposite ends thereof. The crosshead 25, to which the mold cage 24 isclamped, is a generally hollow cylindrical member serving as a coolingair passage 52 for bringing cooling air to the mold cage 24. The top ofcrosshead 25 is closed by a base member 53, for supporting the mold cageassembly 24, and the base member 53 is a generally horizontal memberhaving undercut slots 54 (FIGS. 4 and 5) extending along opposite edgesthereof to a point midway of the width thereof.

These slots 54 provide guiding surfaces when the mold cage andsupporting base member are applied to the crosshead 25. A pair ofmembers 56, bolted to opposite sides of the crosshead 25, havingportions 57 that extend above the top surface of the crosshead 25 andserve as centering and guiding members in cooperation with the slots 54in the supporting base 53. The portion 57 of the element 56 limits thepositioning of the mold cage supporting base 53 with respect to thecrosshead to a fixed horizontal position.

Screw means (not shown) threaded in and extending through the crosshead25 is adapted to have a head loosely coupled to a bearing plate 58(FIG. 1) at the central portion of the yoke-shaped clamp 56 and servesto force theclamp in an outward direction thus causing the clampingfaces 51 to engage angular clamping surfaces 59 at opposite sides of themold cage base 53. As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, these clampingsurfaces 59 are directly above the portions 57 of the members 56 whenthe mold support 53 is tightly clamped to the crosshead. The members 56have additional camming surfaces 60 which overlie beveled corners ofinwardly extending portions 61 at the ends 62 of the yokeshaped clamp50.

Thus, it can be seen that upon the application of a force to move theyoke clamp 50 in a direction away from the crosshead 25, the clampingfaces 51 of the inwardly extending part of the clamp end 62 will abutthe surfaces 59 of the base 53 and at the same time the beveled cornersof the lower, inwardly extending portions 61 of the clamp ends 62 willunderlie the surfaces 60 of the members 56. Thus, by applying force tothe plate 58 of the yoke clamp 50, the mold cage base 53 is firmly heldagainst both horizontal and vertical movement relative to the crosshead25. Removal of the mold cage 24 from the crosshead 25 is accomplished bydrawing the yoke in an inward direction to the extent necessary for theinwardly extending portions 61, at the end 62 of the clamp 50, to moveout of engagement with the surface 60 on the member 56. This movementallows the ends 62 of the clamp 50 to then be moved vertically asufficient amount to permit the face 51 to pass over the beveled surface59 and thus allow the mold cage support 53 to slide across the top ofthe crosshead 25 and be removed therefrom.

The base member 53 has a pair of parallel vertical upstanding walls 63and 64 at opposite ends thereof adjacent the clamping surfaces 59. Thevertical walls 63 and 64 with the base 53 form a generally U-shapedbracket which serves as the mounting structure for the 4 two blank cagehalves 65 and 66. The blank cage halves separate along a vertical plane74 (see FIGS. 2, 2A, 4 and 5) normal to the walls 63 and 64.

A bearing plate 67 is fastened to the upper edge of the wall 63 by meansof suitable fastening elements 68. The bearing plate 67 extends beyondthe width of the wall 63 (see FIGS. 2 and 5) and has a portion,throughout its length, which extends beyond the inner surface of thewall 63. The mold cage halves 65 and 66, adjacent the upper edgethereof, carry C-shaped bearing members 69 adapted to embrace theinwardly extending portion of the bearing plate 67, thereby supportingone end of both mold cage halves 65 and 66 for relative movement withrespect to the base 53.

The opposite end of the mold cage halves 65 and 66 are provided withball bushings 70 and 71 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 4). These ball bushings areavailable as a standard item manufactured by Thomson Industries, Inc.,Manhasset, New York. The ball bushings are fastened to the respectivemold halves 65 and 66. These ball bushings are of .a type that allowsubstantially frictionless axial movement thereof with respect to afixed shaft 72 forming the inner race for the bearings.

The horizontal shaft 72 is fixed to the vertical wall 64 (see FIGS. 3and 4) by means of suitable fastening means 73. As shown in FIG. 3, theball bushings 70 and 71 are open along their length at the bottomthereof to accommodate the fastening means 73 and to allow relativemovement of the ball bushings with respect to the shaft 72. Thus, it canbe seen that the mold cage halves 65 and 66 are mounted for movementrelative to the walls 63 and 64 and the base 53 by means of thedescribed bearings provided at both ends thereof.

In order to insure that the mold cage halves 65 and 66 will open andclose on the same vertical plane, means are provided for insuring linearmotion of the mold cage halves 65 and 66 in opposite directions relativeto the mold parting plane 74. The means for insuring equal opening andclosing motionof both cage halves takes the form of rack and pinioninterconnections between the mold cage halves (see FIGS. 2A, 3, 4 and5).

I Wall 63, as best shown in FIG. 3, has an opening 75 therethrough whoseaxis is coincident with the parting plane and is adapted to receive astub shaft 76. The inner race of a bearing member 77 is fixed to theshaft 76 and the outer race thereof carries a pinion gear 78 forrotation about the axis of the shaft 76. The pinion 78- has an annularinternal shoulder 79 against which the outer race of bearing 77 abutsand a retainer ring 80 holds the bearing in engagement with the shoulder79. The pinion 78 is in mesh with a rack 81, fixed to mold cage half 66by means of suitable fastening means 82. A second rack 83 is fixed tothe mold cage half 65 by means of suitable fastening means 84 and is inengagement at the under side of the pinion '78.

Thus, it can be seen that upon movement of one mold cage half, suchmotion will be transmitted by means of its associated rack, to thepinion 78 and in turn to the rack fixed to the other mold half (seeFIGS. 2A and 5). This insures equal and opposite motion to the.respective mold cage halves.

A substantialy identical rack and pinion arrangement is provided for theopposite end of the mold cage. As can be seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, astub shaft 85 is fastened to the wall 64 and serves as the supportingmember for pinion 86 which is in engagement with a pair of racks 87 and88 in the same manner as described above with respect to pinion 7 8 andassociated racks 8 1 and 8 3. By providing racks and pinions at bothends of the mold cage halves, positive relative linear movement isassured for both mold cage halves 65 and 66. Furthermore, equal openingand closing motions will be assured for each individual mold.

The mold cage halves 65 and 66 are open at the top thereof and providerecesses for supporting parison mold halves 90 in abutting relationship(FIGS. 1, 2 and 7A).

The parison mold halves 90 are loosely retained in position within themold cage halves 65 and 66 by means of mold keepers 91 which arefastened to the mold cage halves 65 and 66 by means of screws 92, asbest shown in FIG. 6.

The rear wall of each parison mold half 90 is formed with a pair ofabutments 93 (FIGS. 2, 6 and 7A) which serve as surfaces against whichmold closing and retaining forces are applied.

The arrangement for opening and closing the parison mold cage halves 65and 66 along with the parison mold halves 90.takes the form of a pair ofhydraulic piston and cylinder motors 94 which are mounted on the moldcage half 65. The hydraulic motors 94 have output shafts whose operatingends 96 embrace a vertical shaft 97 which is fixed withinthe mold cagehalf 66 (see FIG. 7A). Operating fluid for the hydraulic cylinder 94 maybe introduced through ports 98 and 99, it being understood that theintroduction of fluid under pressure through port 99 will cause the moldcage halves to separate and the introduction of fluid under pressure tothe port 98 will cause the mold cage halves 65 and 66 to close.

Provision is made for insuring equal closing force application to theparison mold halves 90 retained in mold cage 66 and takes the form of arocker arm 100' mounted at its center for horizontal oscillation withrespect to the shaft 97 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 7A). The outer ends of therocker arm 100 carry adjustable bearing pads 101 which are adapted toengage the abutments 93 of the parison mold halves 90 which are retainedwithin the mold cage half 66. The opposite parison mold halves 90, whichare retained in the mold cage half 65- are fixed with respect tomovement therein by means of adjustable studs 102 which bear on theabutments 93 thereof.

While this description has been limited to the arrangement of a singleoutput shaft 95, single rocker arm 100 and bearing pads 101, it shouldbe pointed out that there are two sets of these element (see FIG. 7A)within the mold cage half 66, one positioned below the other and eachaligned with a motor 94.

Referring specifically to FIG. 7, there is shown an arrangement forintroducing the cooling air into the interior of the blank mold cagehalf 66. The cooling air is brought into contact with the under surfaceof the member 53 through the conveyance of air through the passage 52 inthe crosshead 25 ,(FIG. 3). Communication is provided between the air incontact with the bottom surface of the member 53, and the chamber 103located within the base member 53.

In order to allow relative movement between the mold cage 66 and basemember 53, there necessarily must be some clearance. The details of FIG.7 show the sealing arrangement for preventing leakage of coolant air outthrough the clearance between the blank mold cage 66 and the base member53, prior to entry of the air into the mold cage surrounding the moldhalves 90.

An annular disk shaped element 104 fits within a circular recess 105 inthe base, 53 and is biased in an upward direction by means of springs106. This annular member 104 is insealing engagement with the interiorwalls of therecesses 105. This sealing engagement is assured by theutilization of an O-ring 107 surrounding the periphery of the member104. The annular member 104 is provided with an elongated opening 108therethrough and communicates with a circular opening 109 in the bottomof the mold cage 66. As best illustrated in the dotted outline on' FIG.1, the circular opening 109 remains in communication with the elongatedopening 108 during opening and closing of the mold cage halves. WhileFIG. 7 illustrates one of the cooling fluid connecting means, a secondsubstantially identical cooling fluid connecting arrangement is alsoprovided for the introduction of coolant into the mold cage 65. The samereference numerals have been applied to the second cool- '6 ingarrangement illustrated in FIG. 2, it being understood that the opening109 will be positioned so as to always be in communication with theopening 108.

Upon the introduction of cooling fluid into the mold cage and 66, thecoolant will flow in surrounding relationship with respect to theparison mold halves 90 and be exhausted through the bottom of the moldcage halves along the parting line thereof inasmuch as the mold cagehalves 65 and 66 do not actually come into sealing contact with eachother when the mold cages are closed. This is true because the parisonmold halves 90, when in sealing engagement, extend beyond the plane ofthe keepers and prevent the mold keepers from coming into contact witheach other.

' The forces exerted by the hydraulic cylinders 94, when holding theparison mold halves together to form the parison mold cavities, areequalized as between the two cavities by reason of the fact that the arm100 is mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the pin 97 (see FIG.7A). Thus, whatever force is applied to maintain one set of molds closedwill also necessarily be used to maintain the other set of moldsclosed.-

In summary, it can be seen that the disclosed apparatus will provide acompact arrangement for forming narrow neck containers wherein the moldcharges are delivered through the neck rings into the closed two-pieceparison mold.

Furthermore, the pressing of the parison is provided by movement of theplungers through the neck rings and upon retraction of the plungers,opening of the parison molds, and their subsequent lowering, theparisons may be transferred laterally to a blow station Where they maybe blown to final form. The advantage of loading through the neck ringis apparent from the fact that it is possible to use a parison moldformed of only two sections. The advantage of a two section parisonrnold for narrow neck ware is the elimination of baflle marks which arepresent when parison molds are loaded in an inverted position andpressed from below.

It is also apparent from the above description that coinplete overlap ofoperation in the two forming steps and the discharge step is possibleand results in the ability to increase production.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be modified through a wide range without departing from theprinciples of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose tolimit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for simultaneously forming a pair of narrow neck parisonsin an upright position, comprising a base member, a mold supporting cageformed of two complementary halves partible along a vertical partingplane, two parison mold halves carried by each mold cage half inside-by-side relationship with their axes vertical, said mold cagehalves being mounted on said base member for limited straight-linehorizontal movement relative to each other and normal to said partingplane, fluidoperated means mounted on one mold cage half and connectedto said other mold cage half for effecting said relative movement ofsaid two mold cage halves, means interposed between and engageable withsaid mold cage halves for reciprocating said mold cage halves in equaland opposite directions, and means fulcrumed on the other mold cage halfand engaging the two parison mold halves carried by said other mold cagehalf for applying equal closing forces to both parison molds when saidmold mold cage half indiametrically said pinion, whereby movement of onecage half will cause equal and opposite movement of the other cage half.7

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein there are bearing membersmounted on the upper ends of said walls, complementary bearing meanscarried by said split mold cage in cooperative relationship with respectto said hearing members for supporting said partible mold supportingcage for movement relative to said walls, said bearing members andbearing means serving to confine said.

partible mold support cage to linear horizontal motion in a directionparallel tovsaid walls. v

4. The apparatus asidefined in claim, 3, wherein the meansinterconnecting the mold cage halves for effecting equal opening andclosing motion of both cage halves comprises a pinion mounted von onevertical Wall for rotation about a horizontal axis, a horizontal rackfixed to one mold cage half and engaging the top of said pinion, and asecond horizontal rack fixed to the other mold cage half and engagingthe bottom of said pinion, whereby movement of either cage half resultsin equal and opposite movement of said other cage half.

opposed engagement with 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 3, whereinthe means interconnecting the mold supporting cage halves for effectingequal opening and closing motion of both cage halves comprises a pinionmounted on each vertical Wall for rotation about a fixed horizontalaxis, a first pair of horizontal racks fixed to opposite ends of onemold cage half and engaging the top of said pinions, a second pair ofhorizontal racks fixed to opposite sides of the other mold cage half andengaging the bottom of said pinions whereby movement of either cage halfrequires positive, equal and opposite movement of said other cage half.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,729,363 9/ 1929Schwenzfeier. 1,845,654 2/1932 Flexon '360 1,856,577 5/1932 McLaughlin6536() 2,834,155 5/1958 Allen 65-360 3,132,933 5/1964 Powers 65357DONALL H. SYLVESTER, Primary Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY FORMING A PAIR OF NARROW NECK PARISONSIN AN UPRIGHT POSITION, COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER, AMOLD SUPPORTING CAGEFORMED OF TWO COMPLEMENTARY HALVES PARTIBLE ALONG A VERTICAL PARTINGPLANE, TWO PARISON MOLD HALVES CARRIED BY EACH MOLD CAGE HALF INSIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR AXES VERTICAL, SAID MOLD CAGESHALVES BEING MOUNTED ON SAID BASE MEMBER FOR LIMITED STRAIGHT-LINEHORIZONTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND NORMAL TO SAID PARTINGPLANE, FLUIDOPERATED MEANS MOUNTED ON ONE MOLD CAGE HALF AND CONNECTEDTO SAID OTHER MOLD CAGE HALF FOR EFFECTING SAID RELATIVE MOVEMENT OFSAID TWO MOLD CAGE HALVES, MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN AND ENGAGEABLE WITHSAID MOLD CAGE HALVES FOR RECIPROCATING SAID MOLD CAGE HALVES, IN EQUALAND OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, AND MEANS FULCRUMED ON THE OTHER MOLD CASE HALFAND ENGAGING THE TWO PARISON MOLD HALVES, CARRIED BY SAID OTHER MOLDCAGE HALF FOR APPLYING EQUAL CLOSING FORCES TO BOTH PARISON MOLDS WHENSAID MOLD CAGE IS CLOSED.